Map4Plastics: Call-for-Interest for industrial partners

16/05/2024
Calls

Mapping of non-circular end-of-life plastics and identification of strategies to close circularity gaps. 

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MAP4PLASTICS

Introduction

To date, only approximately 11% of the effective plastics used is recycled in Belgium. Hence, there is a substantial imbalance between the potential EoL plastics feedstock availability and the actual plastics recyclates currently available and used in the market. To close this gap, it is imperative to have sufficient quantitative insights into the currently unrecycled EoL plastics, including the non-(separately) collected fraction (especially beyond household packaging which has been quite well studied) and into barriers that are hindering a higher plastics recycling rate. This is needed to help defining future recycling strategies.

Ambition

Three knowledge institutions within the CAPTURE platform, including VITO, University of Antwerp, and Ghent University, are combining forces in the COOCK+-project Map4Plastics to address the challenges related to the ‘lost’ or ‘non-circular’ plastics. Therefore, Map4Plastics aims to:

  • Collect and centralize the available knowledge from literature, databases, and stakeholder interviews regarding the currently unrecycled plastics for selected product cases, focusing primarily on Flanders but also including the Walloon region, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the UK.

  • Process the gathered information using factor analysis to pinpoint key bottlenecks in terms of circularity.

  • Develop a decision support framework giving insight into the feasibility and needed investments/upscaling efforts to enable the circularity of additional/unused EoL plastics feedstock.

In this COOCK+-project, we are looking for additional industrial partners to join the industrial advisory board, specifically companies facing challenges or showing interest in non-circular plastics from various perspectives. When companies take part, they can actively co-steer the project by joining the user committee. These users have the opportunity to present specific cases, advise on activities, and are also the first to be informed of all progress.

Read a detailed project description on our Calls page. 

Interested parties are encouraged to send an email before 07/06/2024 to Martijn Roosen (mroosenatcatalisti.be (mroosen[at]catalisti[dot]be), +32 471 33 50 14) with Stef Koelewijn (skoelewijnatcatalisti.be (skoelewijn[at]catalisti[dot]be); +32 487 67 20 77) in cc, and briefly describe their interest and potential contribution to the project.